Joyce Elaine McCloud

A Celebration of Life Visitation will be held at Ankeny Funeral Home, 1510 West First Street, Ankeny, on Friday, April 10, 2026, from 5:00PM to 7:00PM.

Joyce was born on September 28, 1945, to William John and Bernice Eleanor (Johnson) McCloud in Vermillion, South Dakota. She was the first daughter of five children. She was a caring and loving sibling who even helped bring her youngest brother into this world. Over the years she lived in South Dakota, Nebraska, and finally settled in Iowa, where she raised her family. She had two daughters, Theresa and Jennifer.

After moving to Iowa, Joyce worked as a skilled caregiver at the Woodward Resource Center for many years until she retired in 2001. Joyce’s most important “job” was staying home and helping to raise her grandchildren with her daughters and sons in law. She first lived with Theresa and later with Jennifer to help nurture and raise her beloved grandchildren. She never missed an activity or event. She continued this tradition by helping to care for her great grandchildren. She was an extraordinary grandmother whose love extended far beyond her own family. Many of her grandchildren’s friends thought of her as their “Grandma Joyce” as well, a reflection of the warmth, kindness, and unwavering love she gave so freely. Her hobbies were sewing, crafting, and cooking for her family. Joyce was a member of the Ankeny Presbyterian Church where she served as a table parent and made desserts for Wednesday night youth group activities.

She is survived by her two daughters; Theresa Smith and her husband, Adam, and Jennifer Flaugh and her husband, John; six grandchildren, Katherine Gray and her husband, Connor, Abbigail Hammond and her husband, Tyler, Nicholas Smith and his fiancée, Jessica, Zachary Smith, Elizabeth Flaugh, and Jackson Flaugh; five great grandchildren, Kacey, Riley, and McKenna Gray, and Thomas and Eleanor Joyce Hammond; three siblings, Darrell McCloud, Sandy Peters, and Chuck McCloud; and several extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Bernice McCloud; her brother, Bubba McCloud; and her sister-in-law, Debbie McCloud.

In lieu of flowers, memorials will be directed to the family in loving memory of Joyce.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be left at www.ankenyfuneralhome.com for Joyce’s family.